Percolator cover



I Nov. 8, 19. E. s, clsco PERCOLATOR COVER Filed Aug. 8, 1936 INVENTOR. Edward J. Cz'sco. f. 6. (124 mm ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 8, 1938 UNHTED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERCOLATOR COVER sylvania Application August 8, 1936, Serial No. 94,966

10 Claims.

This invention relates to percolator covers, and more particularly to improved means for holding transparent tops in the openings in such covers.

t is customary to provide a percolator cover with a transparent top, preferably of glass, po-

sitioned in a central opening in the cover so that the operation of the percolator may be observed. In the past, it has been the usual practice to insert the transparent top into the opening in the cover from the upper or outer side of the cover, using a bayonet joint or a combination of a bayonet joint and some other means to hold the top in place. With such an arrangement, the top frequently becomes so loose that it rattles and may even fall out of the cover. There is also a further disadvantage encountered with this type of construction, in that it is necessary either to use the glass top itself as the cover handle, in which case it is exposed and subject to frequent breakage, or to provide a handle extending far enough above the upper surface of the cover to permit insertion of the top under the handle, in which case the appearance of the utensil is generally awkward and unattractive.

Because of these diificulties and the fact that it is sometimes desirable to provide a percolator lid or cover with a handle of a type which cannot be used with the ordinary transparent tops inserted in the cover from above, it has also been proposed to insert the transparent tops or visuals from the inner or lower side of the cover. Various means for holding such tops in position have been suggested, including bayonet joints and clamping devices, but these have not been satisfactory. It has also been proposed in a copending application, Serial No. 540,296, to insert the glass top from the under-side of a cover provided with a dependent flange surrounding and defining the opening in the cover and preferably inclined or tapered inwardly toward the axis of the opening for at least a portion of its length. In the preferred form of this device, the portion of the flange having the smallest opening therethrough cooperates with an intermediate portion of the glass top having a minimum circumference to hold the top in position after the larger upper part has been forced through the minimum opening. However, it has been found that even in this arrangement the top may become loose and noisy in the course of use of the percolator,

and that the fit between it and the inwardly-extending flange of the cover cannot be tightened readily. It is an object of my invention to provide an improved percolator cover which will eliminate the difficulties previously encountered with these articles. Another object is to provide an improved means for retaining a transparent top or visual in a percolator cover.

I have found that the difiiculties mentioned hereinabove are overcome by the use of visuals of 5 a new design with covers having flanges of proper design complementary to the design of the visuals. In the preferred form of my invention, the visual is inserted from the inner or lower side of the cover and has a closed upper end and a 10 skirt which tapers, flares or curves outwardly and downwardly therefrom to a shoulder which is preferably substantially horizontal and substantially at the bottom of the visual, as will be described in more detail hereinbelow. Such a vis- 15 ual is used with a cover having the usual substantially central opening and having a flange surrounding or defining the opening on one side of the plane of the cover. The form and function of this flange constitute important features of my 20 invention. In the preferred embodiment, the flange is integral with the body of the cover and extends inwardly or downwardly from the opening therein. The flange also curves or tapers outwardly from the axis of the opening for at 25 least a portion of its length, or otherwise recedes laterally to present a surface adapted to complement or cooperate with the curved or tapered surface of the visual to arrest the movement of the visual through the opening at the desired 30 point; and means are associated with the flange for preventing movement of the visual in the opposite direction. These means preferably function by underlying the shoulder or lower edge of the visual, and may comprise an inwardly-turned 35 lower rim or lip of the flange, or lugs on the edge of the flange, or combinations thereof, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

In order that my invention may be more readily understood, it will be described with reference to 40 the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a percolator cover having a glass top or visual held in a central opening therein; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional 45 View taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified construction; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of a portion of a percolator cover showing another modified construction. 50

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs.

2 and 3 of the drawing, I is a percolator cover, preferably made of aluminum or other suitable metal, having a substantially circular central opening therein which is defined by a dependent 55 flange 2 having a laterally receding or outwardly sloping wall 3. The lower rim 4 of flange 2 is turned inwardly to form a narrow seat or recess 5. A glass top 6 having a portion of its skirt I similar in configuration to the interior of the wall 3 of the flange, closes the opening in the cover I upon being inserted in said opening from the under-side of the cover and pressed outwardly until its shoulder or arcuate portion 8 passes the inwardly turned rim 4. Because of the slope of the wall 3 and the corresponding slope of the skirt 1 or their otherwise cooperating configurations, the top 6 can only be pressed through the opening in the cover until its forward movement is arrested by contact between the skirt 1 and the wall 3, and it cannot fall or be pressed further through the cover. The maximum diameter of the top at the shoulder 8 is greater than the minimum diameter of the opening through the flange at the rim 4, but the rim expands slightly under the pressure of the tapered skirt 1 to allow the shoulder 8 to pass when the top is being inserted, and contracts after the pressure is released, so that the seat 5 underlies or engages the arcuate portion or shoulder 8 of the top, and prevents movement of the topin a rearward or downward direction. Thus, the top 6 is retained by a snap fit, and cannot fall out of the cover in either direction.

If desired, the skirt I may be slightly larger in circumference than the corresponding surface of the flange Wall 3, so that when the top 6 is pressed into place, the wall 3 is expanded slightly and the top 6 is clamped in the cover by the wall 3 and the ledge or seat 5. A very tight fit is thus achieved between the top of the flange.

In' one preferred form of the invention, the resistance of the rim of the flange to the insertion. of the top 6 is reduced by making the flange slightly out of round at one or more places and providing it with a seat of uniform or varying width. This embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 4, in which the flange 2 is elliptical in shape and the inwardly turned seat is of uniform width. The result is indicated by the difference in the extent to which the seat or rim, shown by the dotted line, underlies the top 6 at a and b, the out of round condition resulting in seat 5 underlying top 6 to a greater extent at a'than at b. A similar result can be obtained by making the flange circular and varying the width of the inwardly turned rim or seat.

In another modification of the invention, the flange 2 may be provided with one or more lugs 9 along its lower portion, as shown in Fig. 5. These lugs are bent outwardly, as indicated by the dotted lines, to permit insertion of the top 6, and are bent inwardly and upwardly after the top is inserted in the cover until they underlie the top 6 or its shoulder. Such lugs may be made sufficiently long that they underlie the top 6 to a greater extent than does the seat 5, as shown, or they may extend no further than the rim 4 when in the final position against the top. The use of a lug 9 in conjunction with the seat 5 is illustrated in Fig. 5, but it will be understood that the top 6 may be supported in the cover by lugs alone. In that case, it is preferred to have the lower portion or rim of flange 2 serrated to form a series of lugs which can be bent upward to underlie the top. The use of lugs, either alone or in conjunction with seat 5, is advantageous in that a somewhat closer and tighter fit of top 6 in the cover can be obtainedand the tightness of the fit can be more easily regulated.

My invention has been described hereinabove with special reference to embodiments in which the top is inserted in the cover opening from the lower or inner side, but it may be similarly embodied in percolator covers in which the top is inserted from above by reversing the flange and the taper or curvature of the sides of the top or visual. A knob may also be provided on the top, by casting the top and knob integrally, or otherwise, if desired. Various other modifications are also possible without departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a percolator cover havin an opening therein, a, flange attached to said cover circumferentially of said opening and inclined outwardly from the axis of said opening for at least a portion of its length, a. top having one end of relatively small diameter adapted to be at least partially inserted through said flange and having a portion adjacent its other end of relatively larger diameter and a surface adapted to cooperate with the inclined portion of the flange to arrest forward movement of the top therethrough, and an inwardly turned edge on. said flange adapted to engage said portion of larger diameter to resist rearward movement of the top.

2. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover and having a skirt, a portion of said skirt being similar in configuration to the flange, and means associated with the edge of said flange for underlying said skirt.

3. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the underside of the cover, and means associated with the flange for underlying a portion of the bottom surface of the transparent top.

4. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange attached to the cover and having an inwardly-extending lower edge, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover, the top being supported in the opening by the inwardly-extending edge of the flange.

5. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, said flange being out of round at one or more places, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover, and means associated with the flange for underlying a portion of the transparent top.

6. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, said flange being out of round at one or more places, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the'opening from the under-side of the cover, and means associated with the flange for underlying a portion of the transparent top to a varying extent.

'7. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover, and

one or more lugs associated with the flange and underlying a portion of the transparent top.

8. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover, said top being held in the opening by the flange and by means associated with said flange for underlying a portion of the top.

9. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange attached to the cover, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the underside of the cover and having a skirt, a portion of the skirt being similar in configuration to the flange, the skirt being clamped between the flange and means associated with the flange for underlying a portion of the top.

10. A percolator lid consisting of a cover having an opening therein, a laterally receding flange depending from the cover and defining said opening, a transparent top adapted to be inserted in the opening from the under-side of the cover and having a skirt, an arcuate portion on said skirt, the top being supported in the opening in the cover by an inwardly-extending portion of the flange underlying said arcuate portion.

EDWARD S. CISCO. 

